"Leavitt was asked whether Trump believed the Fed should operate independently from him. She dodged it at first, but then answered it when a White House reporter asked the same question again. The president has made it quite clear he thinks Jerome Powell is bad at his job. And the president has made it quite clear as have many economists, by the way that interest rates should be lowered and should have been lowered a long time ago, Leavitt responded initially."
"Powell said that was not the case in a two-minute video where he claimed the probe was due to his unwillingness to lower interest rates not the renovation. He described it as a consequence of not adhering to the president's demands to lower rates. He also said the DOJ served the Federal Reserve with grand jury subpoenas on Friday over his testimony to the Senate Banking Committee on the renovation project last year."
"Trump appointed Powell as the head of the Fed during his first term, but their relationship has soured since then. The president has routinely bashed Powell for not moving quickly enough in his view to cut rates and has branded him with the nickname Too Late. He told reporters in late December he was considering suing Powell for gross incompetence."
Karoline Leavitt initially dodged a question about whether President Trump believes the Federal Reserve should operate independently, then stated that of course the president thinks the Fed should operate on its own. Leavitt reiterated Trump’s criticisms of Fed Chair Jerome Powell and echoed calls from economists that interest rates should be lowered. The Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Powell over a multi-year Fed building renovation, and Powell denied wrongdoing in a video, saying the probe stems from his refusal to lower interest rates. Trump appointed Powell but has since criticized and threatened legal action against him.
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